WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Private sector participation will be essential to ensuring the success of a debt relief initiative launched by the Group of 20 major economies for the world’s poorest countries, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. The G20’s offer to suspend official bilateral debt service payments by the poorest […]
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s finance ministry on Monday announced the extension of several financial sector and housing measures aimed at supporting people and companies hurt by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. In March, Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said Mexican banks would offer clients deals to defer interest payments and principal on loans. […]
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has had but a single reported case of Covid-19 among its personnel in critical operations units, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. Such units’ responsibilities include protection of key installations, sea and air defence, and counter-terrorism. A serviceman in one such unit tested positive in April, Dr Ng said during […]
(Reuters) – European shares turned lower on Monday, led by losses in energy and consumer companies, as a spike in coronavirus cases globally kept investors on edge. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.3% in a volatile morning, with Asian markets firmly in the red as the global death toll from COVID-19 reached half a […]
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysia will allow the reopening from Wednesday (July 1) of theme parks, including those offering water attractions such as swimming pools, said Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (June 29). Datuk Seri Ismail said the approval would involve 54 theme parks and a workforce of more […]
SINGAPORE – A man who was sentenced to 11½ years’ jail and 12 strokes of cane for a violent sexual attack on a woman he followed into a lift has been spared caning due to a pre-existing back injury. On Monday (June 29), Mohammad Fadil Othman, 36, was given an extra six months’ jail in […]
GUWAHATI, INDIA (REUTERS) – Heavy flooding triggered by monsoon rains has forced more than a million people to flee their homes in the northeast Indian state of Assam, authorities said on Monday (June 29), warning that the crisis was becoming more critical by the hour. The Brahmaputra River, one of the largest rivers in the […]
BEIJING (REUTERS) – China’s military has received the green light to use a Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino Biologics after clinical trials proved it was safe and somewhat efficient, the company said on Monday (June 29). The Ad5-nCoV is one of the eight vaccine candidates being developed by Chinese companies […]
BERLIN (Reuters) – A substantial part of the European Union’s package of measures to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic must consist of grants rather than loans, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist told Der Spiegel. “Otherwise it will not promote economic recovery,” Gita Gopinath was quoted as saying by the German magazine […]
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he planned to double down on his plans to increase public investment and a return to austerity would be a mistake as the country tries to recover from the coronavirus hit to the economy. Johnson told Times Radio on Monday that he wanted a “Rooseveltian” approach […]